A blog launched on the 41st anniversary of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), the first pro-life organisation in the world, established on 11 January 1967. SPUC has been a leader in the educational and political battle against abortion, human embryo experimentation and euthanasia since then. I write this blog in my role as SPUC's chief executive, commenting on pro-life news, reflecting on pro-life issues and promoting SPUC's work.

Friday, 28 November 2014

Abortion industry calls for law to create "access zones" against pro-life vigils outside abortion centres
The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), one of the UK's
largest abortion providers, has called for a law to create "access
zones" against pro-life vigils outside abortion centres. BPAS made the
call in response to the rise of pro-life vigils in the UK, such as those
by 40 Days For Life and Abort67. The campaign, called Back Off, is also
supported by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the
Royal College of Midwives, and other organisations. [BBC, 28 November]

Thursday, 27 November 2014

Swiss assisted suicide escorts produce film
A Swiss association which exists to provide 'escorts to those who wish to be given the means to commit suicide has produced a video about its work. The film, made by Exit ADMD, shows the escorts during their meetings, socialising and going about their work, which some of them referred to as their "vocation". One escort tells a woman to whom he gives a lethal drink, “Have a good journey… May the light guide you… May it lead you to peace.” [Catholic Herald, 17 November]

25th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

On 20 November 1989 the United Nations (UN) General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Convention states that: "The child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth". John Smeaton, SPUC's chief executive, commented: "The Convention is often unjustly reinterpreted to limit its scope just to children who have been born ... SPUC, and in particular its international team - Peter C. Smith, Patrick Buckley and Maria Madise - are working tirelessly, at the UN and elsewhere, to defend the rights of unborn children, especially against the constant pressure of the pro-abortion lobby to enshrine abortion as a human right."

SPUC is disturbed by Belfast court ruling against respected pro-life campaigner
SPUC is disturbed by a ruling by a Belfast court against a respected pro-life campaigner. Bernadette Smyth of Precious Life has been found guilty of harrassment against Dawn Purvis, the director of the Marie Stopes abortion centre in Belfast. Liam Gibson, SPUC's Northern Ireland development officer, said: "I find it very hard to believe that Bernadette Smyth, a highly-respected and long-serving pro-life leader, is guilty of criminal conduct. It would be quite wrong for her forthright opposition to abortion to be misconstrued as harrassment of women considering abortion or of abortion centre staff." [SPUC, 19 November]

Birth control injections for poor African women condemned by SPUC
A new device for giving birth control injections to poor African women has been condemned by SPUC, which has strong links to Africa. SPUC was responding to the news that Sayana Press, a self-injectable version of the Depo-Provera, is to be sold at US$1 per unit. [BBC, 16 November 2014] The media has described the device as a "contraceptive". Like most forms of hormonal birth-control, however, Sayana Press/Depo-Provera can induce early abortions by making the lining of the womb hostile to newly-conceived human embryos. A spokesperson for SPUC said: "Sayana Press is cheap and dangerous. Treating poor, black women like this is disgraceful." [SPUC, 18 November]

Abortion debate cancelled by Oxford college
A debate organised by Oxford University’s pro-life society on abortion has been cancelled by the host Christ Church college cited "physical and mental security" concerns. The debate was due to take place between Timothy Stanley, a pro-life Catholic writer and Brendan O'Neill, pro-abortion editor of Spiked Online. The debate was cancelled under pressure from Oxford University Student Union Women’s Campaign. [Buzzfeed, 18 November]

Two fathers die from infected kidneys
Two fathers from Wales have died after receiving kidneys from a diseased donor. The donor, a homeless alcoholic, had died of meningoencephalitis. His kidneys had been rejected by six other hospitals before they were accepted by University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, who were unaware that the organs has been rejected by other hospitals. [Metro, 18 November] Rhoslyn Thomas, SPUC’s youth and education officer, born and raised in Wales, said: "This incident raises concerns about the ability of the organ transplant system in Wales to protect patients. Serious ethical and safety concerns were raised by SPUC during the passage of the Human Transplantation (Wales) bill last year."

Job vacancy for Despatch Officer at SPUC
SPUC wishes to recruit a full-time Despatch Officer (37½ hours p.w.), whose role will be to open daily post and prepare all outgoing post. The duties include:

photocopying and collating campaign material to be packed with the help of volunteers.

keeping records of all outgoing mailings, filing of sample copies

merchandise stock-keeping, store room organisation

The position, to commence in January 2015 and be based at SPUC’s Kennington HQ, would suit someone with good IT skills, organisational skills and manual lifting ability. The closing date is 12 December 2014. Salary according to age and experience. To request an application pack please contact Patrick Kingman, SPUC, Unit B, 3 Whitacre Mews, London SE11 4AB Email: patkingman@spuc.org.uk tel. 020 7820 3121.

Thursday, 20 November 2014

On 20 November 1989 the United Nations (UN) General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Convention defines a child as “every human being below the age of eighteen years” (art.1)

An unborn child is undoubtedly a human being, a member of the species Homo sapiens.

The Convention states that:

“Every child has the inherent right to life” (art.6.1)

“State parties shall ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the child” (art.6.2)

“The child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and

care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth” (preamble)

lt should be noted that the CRC says “the need for such special safeguards has been…recognised in the UDHR [Universal Declaration of Human Rights]”.

The Convention has not been implemented for all children. The Convention is often unjustly reinterpreted to limit its scope just to children who have been born. lt is true that the practice of abortion is widespread and, in many countries, legal at least in some circumstances. There is, however, a mismatch between the human rights requirements of international law and the practice of individuals and nation states. Prohibitions on abortion by sovereign states are not only compatible with the requirements of international human rights instruments but are in fact the most probable interpretation of those requirements.

SPUC, and in particular its international team - Peter C. Smith, Patrick Buckley and Maria Madise - are working tirelessly, at the UN and elsewhere, to defend the rights of unborn children, especially against the constant pressure of the pro-abortion lobby to enshrine abortion as a human right.

Wednesday, 19 November 2014

SPUC is disturbed by today's ruling by a Belfast court against a respected pro-life campaigner. Bernadette Smyth of Precious Life has
been found guilty of harrassment against Dawn Purvis, the director of
the Marie Stopes abortion centre in Belfast.

"I find it very hard
to believe that Bernadette Smyth, a highly-respected and long-serving
pro-life leader, is guilty of criminal conduct. It would be quite wrong
for her forthright opposition to abortion to be misconstrued as
harrassment of women considering abortion or of abortion centre staff.
SPUC supports her legal team's decision to appeal today's ruling.

At present we do not have an official transcript of
the judge's remarks. Once an official transcript is available, we will
be seeking a legal opinion on the judgment. If the media's reports of
the judge's remarks are accurate, it appears that the ruling may
represent a disturbing curtailment of pro-lifers' freedom of speech and
other civil freedoms. There is an unbroken tradition in both Northern
Ireland and Great Britain of pro-life vigils outside abortion centres
being conducted lawfully and peaceably."

"I want to make it absolutely clear that I do not feel it's
appropriate for anyone to be stopped outside this clinic in any form,
shape or fashion and questioned either to their identity, why they are
going in there and being forced to involve themselves in conversation at
times when they are almost certainly going to be stressed and very
possibly distressed."

Tuesday, 18 November 2014

Job vacancy for Despatch Officer at SPUC
SPUC wishes to recruit a full-time Despatch Officer (37½ hours p.w.), whose role will be to open daily post and prepare all outgoing post. The duties include:

photocopying and collating campaign material to be packed with the help of volunteers.

keeping records of all outgoing mailings, filing of sample copies

merchandise stock-keeping, store room organisation

The position, to commence in January 2015 and be based at SPUC’s Kennington HQ, would suit someone with good IT skills, organisational skills and manual lifting ability. The closing date is 12 December 2014. Salary according to age and experience. To request an application pack please contact Patrick Kingman, SPUC, Unit B, 3 Whitacre Mews, London SE11 4AB Email: patkingman@spuc.org.uk tel. 020 7820 3121.

Court of Appeal considers rights of unborn children
The Court of Appeal is currently discussing a test case of a mother who drank to excess during pregnancy, causing her daughter to be born with disabilities. The case was brought by a local authority on behalf of the now six-year-old girl. The local authority wish to win compensation on behalf of the young girl on the basis that she was a victim of a violent crime (that is, poisoning). [Catholic Herald, 11 November]

Glasgow midwives hearing takes place in London
The case of the Glasgow midwives has been heard in the Supreme Court in London. Lawyers for Mary Doogan and Connie Wood defended the midwives' right to continue to work as Labour Ward Co-ordinators without being complicit in abortion. Mary and Connie have been midwives for over 25 years and helped deliver around 10,000 babies. It will be several months before the judgement is issued. SPUC has funded Connie and Mary’s legal representation throughout the case, with the kind donations of its supporters. [SPUC, 10 November]

Kenyan doctors discover tetanus vaccine laced with sterilising antigen
Vaccines used in Kenya have been laced with an antigen which can cause miscarriage and sterilisation, it is alleged. The vaccine has been administered to 2.3 million women and girls by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF. A spokesman for the Kenyan Catholic Doctors Association said: "[T]his WHO campaign is not about eradicating neonatal tetanus but a well-coordinated forceful population control mass sterilization exercise using a proven fertility regulating vaccine." [Acton Institute, 7 November]

A new device for giving birth control injections to poor African women has been condemned by SPUC, which has strong links to Africa.
SPUC was responding to the news that Sayana Press, a self-injectable version of Depo-Provera, is to be sold at US$1 per unit. ("The one dollar contraceptive set to make family planning easier", BBC, 16 November 2014)

The media has described the device as a "contraceptive". Like most forms of hormonal birth-control, however, Sayana Press/Depo-Provera can induce early abortions by making the lining of the womb hostile to newly-conceived human embryos.

In addition to its abortifacient mode, Sayana Press is dangerous for women. Risks include:

double the risk of HIV-1 infection

2.2-fold increased risk of invasive breast cancer

permanent bone-density loss.

Sayana Press is cheap and dangerous. Treating poor, black women like this is disgraceful.

Friday, 14 November 2014

BBC Children in Need is a charity of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to raise money for the support of children, including disabled children. Its main fundraising vehicle is an annual telethon, which this year (2014) is being held this evening (14 November). The BBC Children in Need website reveals that in the last three years it made grants to sexual health centres and homosexual youth projects. In SPUC's experience, such centres and projects often support and/or facilitate legal abortion, abortifacient birth control and/or damaging forms of sex education. For example, BBC Children in Need has given funds to the Terrence Higgins Trust, which has endorsed a right to choose abortion, promoted morning-after pills, produced pro-euthanasia advance directives ('living wills') and produced highly-explicit sex education material. [John Smeaton, 12 November 2011] Also, BBC Children In Need has previously given grants to charities funding abortion and family planning services and using research methods that involve destructive embryos - see the entry in the 2006 edition of SPUC's Charities Bulletin.

Here are the latest examples of BBC Children in Need's grants to pro-homosexual groups:

Allsorts Youth project (Brighton) – £13,143

"This project will provide a range of support and activities to lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans young people, reducing isolation and distress, and building resilience and confidence."

“Allsorts is a project based in Brighton to support and empower young people under 26 who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans* or unsure (LGBTU) of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity.”

“Mission Statement: Allsorts Youth Project supports and empowers lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans young people to take a lead in raising awareness of homophobia, biphobia and transphobia and challenge prejudice and discrimination in all areas of young people’s lives.”

Beat Bullying (London) - £92,745

"This project will provide and online peer mentoring and specialist counseling service for young LGBT people who are being bullied because of their sexuality, enabling them to improve their self confidence and for them to feel safe."

PACE (London) - £79,410

"This project will provide counseling, support and advocacy to LGBT young people who are at risk of self-harm or suicide. Young people will come to terms with their feelings, and increase their emotional well-being."

PACE are currently recruiting Youth Ambassadors who are between 14 and 18 years old and either identify as LGBT or as questioning their gender or sexuality to aid and advise PACE on its direction.

East London Out Project - £26,274

"This project will provide an after school social and support group for lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender young people aged 13-18. The aim is to reduce isolation, provide a safe place to explore issues and build confidence."

“ELOP was established around 1995 as a grassroots developed and community-led organisation with the aim to promote the mental health, wellbeing, empowerment and equality of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) communities."

Fr Brendan Gerard has asked me to inform the countless friends and heartfelt admirers of the late Alison Davis that on Wednesday, 3rd December, Mass will be celebrated for the repose of Alison's soul at Corpus Christi church in central London. May she rest in peace.

3rd December 2014 is the first anniversary of Alison's death.

These are the details sent to me by Fr Gerard, a former member of SPUC's staff:

Tuesday, 11 November 2014

Paul Tully (right), SPUC's general secretary, is joining Mary Doogan (left) and Connie Wood (right), at the Supreme Court this morning. Please pray for them and for the outcome of the case.

Connie and Mary are senior midwives from Glasgow. They are in the Supreme Court to defend their right to work while not being involved in abortions on the labour ward where they have been employed as Labour Ward Co-ordinators.

Connie and Mary, between them, have helped to deliver around 10,000 babies over the past 25 years.

History of the case
The dispute originated in changes of practice and workload in the labour ward of Glasgow's Southern General Hospital from 2007 and earlier, which led to senior midwives such as Mary and Connie being told to delegate, supervise and support staff midwives in carrying out abortions. This prompted a formal grievance process which ran from 2009-2011. The Health Board rejected Connie and Mary's request for their conscientious objection to be respected, and the midwives then sought judicial review. The Outer House of the Court of Session found against the midwives in 2012, but this decision was reversed on appeal by the Inner House in 2013. The Health Board then appealed to the Supreme Court, and the case is being heard on 11 November 2014.

The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children has funded Connie and Mary's legal representation throughout the case. We are grateful that the generosity of our donors has enabled us to support them in their courageous stand in defence of midwives' rights of conscience.

Monday, 10 November 2014

People from around the world are keeping the Glasgow midwives Mary and Connie in their prayers this week - including the sisters of the Holy Family Sisters of the Needy in Nigeria.

Tomorrow, Mary Doogan and Connie Wood, two senior midwives from Glasgow, are going to the Supreme Court in London to defend their right not to be involved with abortions.

Antonia Tully, SPUC's Safe at School co-ordinator, met Sister MaryLucy, pictured left, at the pro-life conference in Abuja, Nigeria, earlier this year. Sister Mary Lucy told Antonia about their work with orphans and Antonia spoke about the work of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC). In particular Antonia asked the sisters to pray for Mary and Connie.

It was clear that Sister MaryLucy saw no division between her practical work in looking after orphaned and abandoned children and SPUC's work fighting for the lives of unborn children who have been foresaken by society.

Sadly in this country many people do not see that pro-life work supports the work of caring for neglected and rejected children in the poorest parts of the world.

Below is an email Sister MaryLucy sent to Antonia recently:

Hello Antonia!

Greetings to you in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

It's my pleasure writing you this morning to express our fondness for the work of saving life you are doing over there. We are all in the same boat fighting for the preservation and upliftment of life.

Maria Madise, Voice of the Family’s coordinator, was interviewed this past week on Newsmax, one of the leading news and politics outlets in the United States. You watch the interview with Maria below or directly on the Newsmax website, where you can also read a report of the interview, entitled: “Catholic Activist: Gay Advocacy at Vatican Synod Did ‘Disservice’ to Church”.

Thursday, 6 November 2014

Bishop Athanasius Schneider, auxiliary bishop of Astana, Kazakhstan, has given a prophetic interview on the recent Extraordinary Synod on the Family. During the interview, Bishop Schneider says:

"During the Synod there had been moments of obvious manipulation on the part of some clerics who held key positions in the editorial and governing structure of the Synod. The interim report (Relatio post disceptationem) was clearly a prefabricated text with no reference to the actual statements of the Synod fathers. In the sections on homosexuality, sexuality and 'divorced and remarried' with their admittance to the sacraments the text represents a radical neo-pagan ideology."

Tuesday, 4 November 2014

Proposals to close schools which fail to promote homosexuality are an attack on every parent in the country, according to SPUC's Safe at School campaign.

Safe at School was responding to comments by Nicky Morgan, the education secretary, to The Sunday Times. The newspaper reports that Mrs Morgan is backing new rules from Ofsted, the schools inspectorate, which punishes schools which it deems to be intolerant of homosexuality.

Antonia Tully, national coordinator of Safe at School, told the media:

"It's quite clear that the new rules for schools actively to promote so-called 'British values' are all about indoctrinating children with a homosexual ideology. The prospect that schools will have to champion homosexuality or risk being downgraded by Ofsted strips all parents of their right to educate their own children about sexual morality.

It is misleading to suggest that same-sex issues must be embedded in the school curriculum in order to protect children. Parents will be left powerless to keep their children safe from harmful sexual lifestyles. Nicky Morgan's zeal to further the gay agenda is undermining every parent in the country."

John Smeaton

About Me

I became involved in SPUC after graduating, when I established a branch in south London in 1974. I have worked full-time for SPUC for 39 years. I became chief executive of SPUC in the UK in 1996, having been general secretary since 1978. I was elected vice-president of International Right to Life Federation in 2005. At UN conferences in Cairo, Copenhagen, Beijing, Istanbul and Rome, I helped coordinate more than 150 pro-life/pro-family groups resulting in pro-life victories in Cairo, Istanbul and Rome. I was educated at Salesian College, London, before going to Oxford where I graduated in English Language and Literature. I qualified as a teacher, becoming head of English at a secondary school. I am married to Josephine. We have a grown-up family and we live in north London.

Acknowledgement

I am grateful to SPUC's staff, supporters and advisers for their help to me in researching, writing and producing this blog.

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